Net Promoter Score

You know the question. You’ll have seen it many times. How likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague? It’s the basis of the Net Promoter Score, and it’s something I’ve been working with a few times recently.

And, to be honest, I have some issues with it:

1. It’s an absolute scale: 0-10. So my 8 is given equal weight to everyone else’s, when my 8 is really a bit arbitrary. I don’t know that scoring 8 makes me “passive”, whereas if I’d gone for 9, I’d be a “promoter”. Arguably, I could be likely to recommend, score a 6, but be classified as a “detractor”. But, in aggregate, those effects will probably average out.
   (Myself I prefer to set up relative scales: “How important is x to you?” and “How well does y deliver x?”, then it’s the difference that is important.)
2. It’s an unlikely scenario. I like to think I’ve got better things to do than endlessly recommend companies/products/services. I take a small measure of pride in more sophisticated conversational gambits. And at its worst, it’s meaningless. How likely is it that you would recommend Virgin for your journey from Stockport to London to a friend or colleague? Well, I wouldn’t seriously recommend they try to find another way to get there by train.

But there’s some very useful aspects too.

• It’s simple, and it’s increasingly understood. Likesay, you know the question. And I have no doubt in Bain’s research that a high NPS score = better prospects for growth
• It can be used for employers, alongside the same question for customers/service-users. And that has the opportunity be very illuminating
• It’s not intended to just be a pure metric; it’s intended as an opener to further questions: what’s good, what could be better? It’s a good way to get a balance of the qual and quant, that I’m always seeking

There’s lots of good options for ways to conduct surveys; this is a tool to be considered for employers.